TTO the Trend: Check Mate

One trend that we've seen around this winter and fall season is plaid, specifically glen plaid or check-style plaid.  As you know, we love plaid of all kinds, so we are down to add more to our wardrobes!  Here are a few ways to incorporate this trend into your wardrobe this season!

Top Row (Left to Right): Plaid loafer, gingham tank, plaid skirt, gingham shirt, coat

Bottom Row (Left to Right): Swing dress, PJs, dress pants, turtleneck

Have you incorporated this trend into your wardrobe?  Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Chicken Enchiladas Verde

Jess here!  We have always been big fans of Mexican food and often observe Taco Tuesday.  If you're looking for a twist on an old favorite this Tuesday, try this recipe for Chicken Enchiladas Verde!  This recipe is based on one created by our friend, Michelle.  She gave me the bones of it, but I made a few tweaks.  I'd say this serves 10-12, since it filled two casserole dishes (see notes).

Getting started you'll need:

• 1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts (approx 6)
• 3-4 bottles of beer (Pick something you'd drink--no Natty Light in this one)**see note
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 can green chiles
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 tsp each cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder
• 1 jar salsa verde (or homemade tomatillo salsa if you're fancy)
• 1 package corn tortillas
• 3 cups of shredded Mexican cheese

Optional additions: chopped cilantro, green onions, sour cream, extra salsa, guacamole or extra shredded cheese

In a large pot, cover the chicken breasts with the beer.  Simmer on low heat for around an hour, or until the chicken is fully cooked.  Remove the chicken and shred it with two forks.  Place it in a large bowl.  Drain and rinse the black beans and mix them with the chicken.

While shredding, allow the beer mixture to reduce until you have about 1/2 cup of liquid left.  Add the seasonings and turn off the heat.  Pour the liquid over the meat and beans in a large bowl. 

In the same pan (without cleaning), add the onion, salt and pepper.  Cook the onion until softened, about 5-10 minutes, then add the garlic.  Saute for 2-3 minutes then add the green chiles.  Pour this mixture into the bowl with the chicken and beans.

Corn tortillas roll best when they're heated.  You can do this on a griddle pan over medium heat or on a sheet tray in the oven at 200 degrees for 5 minutes.

Alright, it's time to get your assembly line going.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Pour the salsa verde into a large bowl.  Let's get ready to roll!

Spread a little salsa on the bottom of your casserole dish.  Dip a tortilla into the salsa.  Fill it with chicken and cheese.  Then roll and place it into your casserole dish, seam-side down.  Then do this again and again until the mixture is gone and/or your casserole dish is full.  

Pour over any remaining salsa and extra cheese.  

Then it's into the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown and bubbling!  Serve it up and don't forget the chips and guacamole on the side!  Add a great margarita and you're set!

Notes:

• You can substitute chicken broth if you want to make this without beer.  We did half and half, frankly, so that we could save more beer for drinking!

• Michelle's original recipe mentions serving 8, but we found it could serve close to 12.  If you're not serving a small army (or Michelle's three teenage sons), separate it into two casserole dishes.  Let one cool completely then wrap in plastic wrap then aluminum foil and pop it in your freezer.  Any leftover filling works great as a leftover burrito bowl, too.  Just add some rice, salsa and shredded cheese.

• This is pretty kid-friendly, so try it out, moms.  Just think about the spice level of your salsa choice, if you're serving a younger crowd.  I know my kid claimed not to like "'chaladas" but then she ate some after all.  

• This is a pretty forgiving recipe, so if you're a beginner cook like me, you should still try it out. I thought I had botched it pretty bad when I followed the original notes to cook the chicken in the beer for 2-3 hours.  It was...well, bone dry.  However, once I put it back into the liquid and covered it all with salsa and cheese, we were all good.

Give these enchiladas a try and let us know what you think in the comments below!

TTO the Trend: Oversized Earrings

We've been taking on some of the popular trends of the winter.  One of those is oversized earrings.  We have long been fans of a statement earring, so we're on this train for sure.  Here are a few of our favorites!

Top Row (Left to Right):  Tory Burch Hoops, Baublebar Maraca Drops, House of Harlow Hoops, Kendra Scott Olympia

Bottom Row (Left to Right):  Natasha Crystal Drops, Kendra Scott Glenda, Kate Spade Posy Grove

Will you be rocking oversized earrings?  Which ones are your favorites?  Let us know in the comments below!

Friday Pick-Six: 1/26/18

Here's what we're loving and living for this week!

1.  We've mentioned how much we love the Essie Treat Love Color line.  They provide color for your nails combined with a treatment to make your nails stronger.  We often go to this after removing our shellac to help our nails get back on track.  Essie has recently released a ton of new colors in this line and Essie Envy has a great review with swatches!

2.  We have talked about our love for the Lilly Pulitzer Elsa blouse before, but we both ordered new ones at the After Party Sale this year!  This is literally the most flattering blouse ever and we could wear them anywhere!

3.  This chicken tortellini soup looks easy and delicious.  If the weather is as cold where you are as it is at TTO Headquarters, you might want to give it a try!

4.  These cord leggings are on super sale and still available in a few sizes!  I bought them after the holidays and love them!  The stretch is great and they're as comfortable as they are cute.  Wear them to work with boots and a tunic sweater like me! -- J

5.  How cute are these gingham flats at Target?  Even though it will probably be a while before they make it into our wardrobe rotation, we may have to scoop them up this weekend on our weekly Target trip!

6.  How cute is this ruffle bodysuit at JCrew on SUPER SALE!  Ry has it and loves it!  Also, all JCrew final sale is an extra 50% off with the code SAVENOW.

What are you loving and living for this week?  Let us know in the comments below and have a great weekend!

Twins Take on Hosting: Super Bowl Shindig

As you know, we're big football fans around these parts.  Granted, college football is our game and our Lions will pretty much never be in the Super Bowl, but we do always plan to watch The Big Game each year.  If you're planning a Super Bowl get-together for friends, here are some tips to keep in mind!

• The game is the game.

We know some people don't really care about sports, but there's nothing worse when you're trying to follow a game closely and someone else wants to talk.  If you don't care about the game itself, find a chatting partner who is the same boat.  If you're the host, make sure that there are plenty of seats where folks can see and hear the TV easily.

• Keep the food coming!

At a sports-watching party, we think it works best to have snack-style food, instead of a big sit-down meal.  People are going to be milling around, chatting and watching, so they might not want a heavy meal.  Think about a main dish that can sit for a little while and stay tasting great and lots of snacks to supplement it.  

Some of our best Super Bowl Parties have had chili as our main dish.  This Slow Cooker Chili is one of our favorites and it can just hang out in your crockpot and stay warm all evening!

Here are a few other recipes that are perfect for your party!

• Sheet-Pan Nachos
• Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
• Green Chile Enchiladas
• Taco Pizza Rolls

• Don't Forget Dessert

Make sure you remember to include something sweet for your guests.  We usually go with cookies, since you can make them ahead of time and they keep well.  We have a ton of favorite cookie recipes, which we'll link here!  If you want to get fancy, you can make our sugar cookies and cut them into football theme shapes and decorate in team colors.  Here are some other great desert ideas!

• No Bakes
• Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies
• Crazy Popcorn Mix
• Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

Will you be hosting a Super Bowl Party this year?  Let us know what you'll be serving in the comments below!

TTO the Trend: Blanket Scarves

If you're a regular reader, you know about our love of blanket scarves.  Not only do they look stylish, but they're a great extra layer in our current freezing temperatures!

Now, maybe you're saying to yourself, "Hey, twins.  I also love blanket scarves, but they're so huge and bulky!  How do I tie them?"  Well, look no further, here's our favorite way to tie a blanket scarf.  Please note--for this tutorial, we're using a square scarf (This one is our favorite).

1. To start off, lay your square out flat on the floor or a bed.  Fold it from corner to corner to make a triangle.
2. Hold the ends of the triangle in your hands.  Place the scarf so the point of the triangle is down in front of your body.
3. Take one end of the scarf and wrap it around your neck, tucking the end underneath the front of the scarf.  Do the same with the other side.
4. Adjust the length as needed so it's comfortable around your neck.  There you go!  If you're looking for more ways to style and wear a blanket scarf try check out Pinterest.  There are tons of great tutorials like this one or this one!

If you're looking for a blanket scarf, here are some of our favorites!

Top Row: (1, 2, 3)
Bottom Row: (1, 2, 3)

Would you rock a blanket scarf?  What's your favorite way to style it?  Let us know in the comments below!

Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies

If you have an Instagram account, read a blog or basically have eyes, you've probably seen these amazing chocolate chunk shortbread cookies!  We decided we needed to make them, too, and they were pretty easy and insanely delicious!  If you want to make them, check this out!

Get your ingredients together.  

For this cookie, you'll want to use a high-quality bar of chocolate that you'll chop instead of chocolate chips.  Semi-sweet chocolate is great, so is a dark chocolate.  Chocolate chips are tasty, but the chunks of chocolate make these even better.  Chop your chocolate into chunks.  A serrated knife works best for this!

Here's one way that shortbread is different than regular cookies.  You want chilled not softened butter.  While you're chopping, cut your butter into small pieces.  We find that you can cut it and then chill it again before baking for optimal results.

Mix the butter, vanilla and sugars together in your mixer bowl until light and fluffy.  Then add the flour and mix until it looks crumbly.  This is NOT going to come together like a traditional chocolate chip cookie.  It will look kind of sandy but will clump together when you squeeze it in your palm.

Add in your chocolate chunks.  Hopefully, you don't have a preschool-aged sous chef who secretly eats so much of it that you have to chop some more...

Split the dough into two parts.  Spread out some plastic wrap and place one half of the dough on it.  Work it into a log shape.  Then do the same with the other half.  Once you've got your logs, chill them in the fridge for at least two hours.

Once chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees then slice the dough with a serrated knife into 1/2 inch pieces.  If you want to get fancy, brush the edges with beaten egg and roll in sanding sugar before slicing.  We didn't have sanding sugar and they still turned out great, so go figure.

Then sprinkle on the salt and bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges are golden brown.  Cool them on the tray for a minute or two and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

There you have it!  They're like next level chocolate chip cookies!  The only challenge we had was that the dough can be a bit on the crumbly side, which makes slicing challenging.  We only had this happen one of the two times, so maybe that's reasonable?  We're not exactly shortbread experts so we don't know exactly why it happened.  Too long of a chill time?  Not long enough?  Overmixing?  Undermining?  If you know--let us know!  However, they were tasty enough that we will definitely try again.

Try them and let us know what you think!  Happy Baking!